(MEDIHEALTH) in Improving Medication Adherence

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

(MEDIHEALTH) in Improving Medication Adherence Ting et al. Trials (2018) 19:310 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2649-9 STUDYPROTOCOL Open Access Effectiveness and sustainability of a structured group-based educational program (MEDIHEALTH) in improving medication adherence among Malay patients with underlying type 2 diabetes mellitus in Sarawak State of Malaysia: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial Chuo Yew Ting1, Shahren Ahmad Zaidi Adruce1*, Mohamed Azmi Hassali2, Hiram Ting3, Chien Joo Lim4, Rachel Sing-Kiat Ting5, Abu Hassan Alshaari Abd Jabar6, Nor Anizah Osman7, Izzul Syazwan Shuib8, Shing Chyi Loo8, Sui Theng Sim8, Su Ee Lim7 and Donald E. Morisky9 Abstract Background: Amidst the high disease burden, non-adherence to medications among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been reported to be common and devastating. Sarawak Pharmaceutical Services Division has formulated a pharmacist-led, multiple-theoretical-grounding, culturally sensitive and structured group-based program, namely “Know Your Medicine – Take if for Health” (MEDIHEALTH), to improve medication adherence among Malay patients with T2DM. However, to date, little is known about the effectiveness and sustainability of the Program. Methods/design: This is a prospective, parallel-design, two-treatment-group randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of MEDIHEALTH in improving medication adherence. Malay patients who have underlying T2DM, who obtain medication therapy at Petra Jaya Health Clinic and Kota Samarahan Health Clinic, and who have a moderate to low adherence level (8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, Malaysian specific, score <6) were randomly assigned to the treatment group (MEDIHEALTH) or the control group. The primary outcome of this study is medication adherence level at baseline and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months post-intervention. The secondary outcomes are attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, intention and knowledge related to medication adherence measured at baseline and 1, 6 and 12 months post-intervention. The effectiveness and sustainability of the Program will be triangulated by findings from semi-structured interviews with five selected participants conducted 1 month after the intervention and in-depth interviews with two main facilitators and two managerial officers in charge of the Program 12 months after the intervention. Statistical analyses of quantitative data were conducted using SPSS version 22 and Stata version 14. Thematic analysis for qualitative data were conducted with the assistance of ATLAS.ti 8. (Continued on next page) * Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] 1Institute of Borneo Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2018 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Ting et al. Trials (2018) 19:310 Page 2 of 13 (Continued from previous page) Discussion: This study provides evidence on the effectiveness and sustainability of a structured group-based educational program that employs multiple theoretical grounding and a culturally sensitive approach in promoting medication adherence among Malays with underlying T2DM. Both the quantitative and qualitative findings of this study could assist in the future development of the Program. Trial registration: National Medical Research Register, NMRR-17-925-35875 (IIR). Registered on 19 May 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03228706. Registered on 25 July 2017. Keywords: Culturally sensitive, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Medication adherence, Malay patients, Group-based educational program, Randomized controlled trial Background significantly associated with better glycaemic control, Diabetes is an epidemic chronic disease caused either by less hospital visits and admissions, and lower medical costs. the failure of the pancreas in producing sufficient insulin On the other hand, a lower adherence rate was significantly or by the failure of the body cells in utilizing the insulin associated with poor medication tolerance, frequency of produced by the pancreas effectively [1]. The majority medication intake (more than two times a day), having (95%) of patients with diabetes have type 2 diabetes concomitant depression and negative belief about the mellitus (T2DM), which is more common in adults than medications. Consequently, patients who poorly adhere to in children [1, 2]. A national health and morbidity medications take more medications owing to poor gly- survey (NHMS) carried out by the Ministry of Health, caemic control and the development of micro- and macro- Malaysia (MOH), in 2015 revealed that 17.5% (95% Con- vascular complications [11]. Furthermore, the condition fidence interval 16.6, 18.3) of Malaysians were found to further worsens their adherence owing to more complex have diabetes [3]. In comparison with the results of the medications and more side effects experienced [7]. This first NHMS and the second NHMS conducted in 1986 inevitably increases the financial burden and wastage to and 1996, respectively, the recent findings again showed health services [12]. Hence, breaking the vicious cycle that there is a steady increase in the prevalence of dia- should be an urgent priority for all stakeholders. betes among Malaysians [4]. Besides, the national survey In Malaysia, the Pharmaceutical Services Division (PSD) found that there is a significant difference between differ- of the MOH launched in 2007 a campaign called “Know ent ethnic groups. Indians were found to have the highest Your Medicine” (KYM) to promote the quality use of prevalence of diabetes (22.1%, 95 CI 19.2-25.3), followed medicines [13]. The campaign utilizes mass media, social by the Malays (14.6%, 95 CI 13.8-15.5), the Chinese (12. media and a group-based educational program (GBEP) to 0%, 95 CI 10.7-13.5) and last the other indigenous groups deliver the message to the Malaysian public. The messages (10.7%, 95 CI 8.8-13.0). Even though Indians were found conveyed include information on their medication man- to have a greater percentage of T2DM than Malays, agement, such as why, how and when to take medicines, Malays have a higher total number of T2DM patients reporting adverse drug events, awareness on the rational owing to their bigger population size in Malaysia than use of medicines and medications that need special precau- Indians, which is the third largest ethnic group in tions. In particular, assuring and improving medication Malaysia [5]. adherence among patients is one of the important mes- Amidst the high disease burden, non-adherence to med- sages conveyed through the campaign. Moreover, the PSD ications among patients with T2DM has been reported to of Sarawak State Health Department further expanded the be common and devastating [6]. It has been estimated that scope of the GBEP by formulating a 3-h pharmacist-led more than 50% patients fail to achieve recommended culturally sensitive structured GBEP in promoting medica- glycaemic goals due to non-adherence to diabetic medica- tion adherence among T2DM patients [14]. The official tions [7, 8]. There is no exception for Malaysia as a re- name of the structured GBEP is “Know Your Medicine – cent national survey revealed that 73.1% of Malaysians Take it for Health” (MEDIHEALTH). Notably, MEDI- who are on medication did not adhere to the medica- HEALTH is a culturally sensitive and culturally appropriate tions prescribed [9]. program that is tailor-made to suit the cultural differences A recent systematic review [10] summarized that the of the major ethnicities in the State, including Iban, factors that contribute to poor adherence among T2DM Bidayuh, Malay and Chinese. In addition, MEDIHEALTH patients are age, ethnicity, health beliefs, medication cost, was specifically designed to complement the individual ap- insulin use, health literacy, medication cost, co-pays, med- proach in improving medication adherence among T2DM ical insurance coverage and primary non-adherence. Fur- patients called Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence thermore,ontheonehand,agreateradherenceratewas Clinic (DMTAC) initiated by the PSD, MOH [15]. Previous Ting et al. Trials (2018) 19:310 Page 3 of 13 literature supports the employment of a structured GBEP attitude towards the behaviour, perceived subjective so- such as MEDIHEALTH because it has numerous irreplace- cial norms towards the behaviour and perceived behav- able benefits, including (1) validation, (2) normalization of ioural control towards the behaviour and is mediated by experience, (3) reduction of isolation, (4) sense of belong- the intention to act. Attitude towards the behaviour is ing and (5) enhanced self-esteem [16]. The design and how one evaluates the advantages or disadvantages of content of MEDIHEALTH will be further elaborated in the performing a behaviour. Subjective social norm is the “Methods/design” section. social expectations of a behaviour perceived by an indi- While the previous literature has
Recommended publications
  • SARAWAK GOVERNMENT GAZETTE PART II Published by Authority
    For Reference Only T H E SARAWAK GOVERNMENT GAZETTE PART II Published by Authority Vol. LXXI 25th July, 2016 No. 50 Swk. L. N. 204 THE ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS ORDINANCE THE ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS ORDER, 2016 (Made under section 3) In exercise of the powers conferred upon the Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri by section 3 of the Administrative Areas Ordinance [Cap. 34], the following Order has been made: Citation and commencement 1. This Order may be cited as the Administrative Areas Order, 2016, and shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of August, 2015. Administrative Areas 2. Sarawak is divided into the divisions, districts and sub-districts specified and described in the Schedule. Revocation 3. The Administrative Areas Order, 2015 [Swk. L.N. 366/2015] is hereby revokedSarawak. Lawnet For Reference Only 26 SCHEDULE ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS KUCHING DIVISION (1) Kuching Division Area (Area=4,195 km² approximately) Commencing from a point on the coast approximately midway between Sungai Tambir Hulu and Sungai Tambir Haji Untong; thence bearing approximately 260º 00′ distance approximately 5.45 kilometres; thence bearing approximately 180º 00′ distance approximately 1.1 kilometres to the junction of Sungai Tanju and Loba Tanju; thence in southeasterly direction along Loba Tanju to its estuary with Batang Samarahan; thence upstream along mid Batang Samarahan for a distance approximately 5.0 kilometres; thence bearing approximately 180º 00′ distance approximately 1.8 kilometres to the midstream of Loba Batu Belat; thence in westerly direction along midstream of Loba Batu Belat to the mouth of Loba Gong; thence in southwesterly direction along the midstream of Loba Gong to a point on its confluence with Sungai Bayor; thence along the midstream of Sungai Bayor going downstream to a point at its confluence with Sungai Kuap; thence upstream along mid Sungai Kuap to a point at its confluence with Sungai Semengoh; thence upstream following the mid Sungai Semengoh to a point at the midstream of Sungai Semengoh and between the middle of survey peg nos.
    [Show full text]
  • English for the Indigenous People of Sarawak: Focus on the Bidayuhs
    CHAPTER 6 English for the Indigenous People of Sarawak: Focus on the Bidayuhs Patricia Nora Riget and Xiaomei Wang Introduction Sarawak covers a vast land area of 124,450 km2 and is the largest state in Malaysia. Despite its size, its population of 2.4 million people constitutes less than one tenth of the country’s population of 30 million people (as of 2015). In terms of its ethnic composition, besides the Malays and Chinese, there are at least 10 main indigenous groups living within the state’s border, namely the Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Bisaya, Kelabit, Lun Bawang, Penan, Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang, the last three being collectively known as the Orang Ulu (lit. ‘upriver people’), a term that also includes other smaller groups (Hood, 2006). The Bidayuh (formerly known as the Land Dayaks) population is 198,473 (State Planning Unit, 2010), which constitutes roughly 8% of the total popula- tion of Sarawak. The Bidayuhs form the fourth largest ethnic group after the Ibans, the Chinese and the Malays. In terms of their distribution and density, the Bidayuhs are mostly found living in the Lundu, Bau and Kuching districts (Kuching Division) and in the Serian district (Samarahan Division), situated at the western end of Sarawak (Rensch et al., 2006). However, due to the lack of employment opportunities in their native districts, many Bidayuhs, especially youths, have migrated to other parts of the state, such as Miri in the east, for job opportunities and many have moved to parts of Peninsula Malaysia, espe- cially Kuala Lumpur, to seek greener pastures. Traditionally, the Bidayuhs lived in longhouses along the hills and were involved primarily in hill paddy planting.
    [Show full text]
  • Language Use and Attitudes As Indicators of Subjective Vitality: the Iban of Sarawak, Malaysia
    Vol. 15 (2021), pp. 190–218 http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24973 Revised Version Received: 1 Dec 2020 Language use and attitudes as indicators of subjective vitality: The Iban of Sarawak, Malaysia Su-Hie Ting Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Andyson Tinggang Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Lilly Metom Universiti Teknologi of MARA The study examined the subjective ethnolinguistic vitality of an Iban community in Sarawak, Malaysia based on their language use and attitudes. A survey of 200 respondents in the Song district was conducted. To determine the objective eth- nolinguistic vitality, a structural analysis was performed on their sociolinguistic backgrounds. The results show the Iban language dominates in family, friend- ship, transactions, religious, employment, and education domains. The language use patterns show functional differentiation into the Iban language as the “low language” and Malay as the “high language”. The respondents have positive at- titudes towards the Iban language. The dimensions of language attitudes that are strongly positive are use of the Iban language, Iban identity, and intergenera- tional transmission of the Iban language. The marginally positive dimensions are instrumental use of the Iban language, social status of Iban speakers, and prestige value of the Iban language. Inferential statistical tests show that language atti- tudes are influenced by education level. However, language attitudes and useof the Iban language are not significantly correlated. By viewing language use and attitudes from the perspective of ethnolinguistic vitality, this study has revealed that a numerically dominant group assumed to be safe from language shift has only medium vitality, based on both objective and subjective evaluation.
    [Show full text]
  • Samarahan, Sarawak Samarahan
    Samarahan, Sarawak Samarahan, STB/2019/DivBrochure/Samarahan/V1/P1 JPA, No. 2 Lot 5452, Jalan Datuk Mohammad Musa, 94300 Kota Kota 94300 Musa, Mohammad Datuk Jalan 5452, Lot 2 No. JPA, Address : Address Tel : 082-505911 : Tel 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Samarahan, Kota 94300 Kampus Institut Kemajuan Desa (INFRA) Cawangan Sarawak Cawangan (INFRA) Desa Kemajuan Institut Kampus Address : Address Wilayah Sarawak Wilayah Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (INTAN) Kampus Kampus (INTAN) Negara Awam Tadbiran Institut Tel : 082-677 200 082-677 : Tel Jalan Meranek, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Samarahan, Kota 94300 Meranek, Jalan Address : Address Cawangan Sarawak Cawangan Kampus Institut Kemajuan Desa (INFRA) (INFRA) Desa Kemajuan Institut Kampus Website: ipgmktar.edu.my Website: Fax: 082-672984 Fax: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Mara Teknologi Universiti Tel : 083 - 467 121/ 122 Fax : 083 - 467 213 467 - 083 : Fax 122 121/ 467 - 083 : Tel Youth & Sports Sarawak Sports & Youth Tel : 082-673800/082-673700 : Tel Sebuyau District Office District Sebuyau Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Arts, Tourism, of Ministry Jln Datuk Mohd Musa, Kota Samarahan, 94300 Kuching 94300 Samarahan, Kota Musa, Mohd Datuk Jln Tel : (60) 82 58 1174/ 1214/ 1207/ 1217/ 1032 1217/ 1207/ 1214/ 1174/ 58 82 (60) : Tel Address : Address Jalan Datuk Mohammad Musa, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Samarahan, Kota 94300 Musa, Mohammad Datuk Jalan Samarahan Administrative Division Administrative Samarahan Address : Address Tel : 082 - 803 649 Fax : 082 - 803 916 803 - 082 : Fax
    [Show full text]
  • The Demographic Profile and Sustainability Growth of the Bidayuh Population of Sarawak
    International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 8 , No. 14, Special Issue: Transforming Community Towards a Sustainable and Globalized Society, 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS The Demographic Profile and Sustainability Growth of the Bidayuh Population of Sarawak Lam Chee Kheung & Shahren Ahmad Zaidi Adruce To Link this Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i14/5028 DOI: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i14/5028 Received: 06 Sept 2018, Revised: 22 Oct 2018, Accepted: 02 Dec 2018 Published Online: 23 Dec 2018 In-Text Citation: (Kheung & Adruce, 2018) To Cite this Article: Kheung, L. C., & Adruce, S. A. Z. (2018). The Demographic Profile and Sustainability Growth of the Bidayuh Population of Sarawak. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(14), 69–78. Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s) Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com) This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode Special Issue: Transforming Community Towards a Sustainable and Globalized Society, 2018, Pg. 69 - 78 http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/IJARBSS JOURNAL HOMEPAGE Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/publication-ethics 69 International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • REMDP: Regional: Trans Borneo Power Grid: Sarawak to West
    Trans Borneo Power Grid: Sarawak to West Kalimantan Transmission Link (RRP INO 44921) Draft Resettlement and Ethnic Minority Development Plan July 2011 REG: Trans Borneo Power Grid: Sarawak to West Kalimantan Link (Malaysia Section) Sarawak-West Kalimantan 275 kV Transmission Line Draft Resettlement and Ethnic Minority Development Plan (REMDP) July, 2011 Table of Contents I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 II. Project Description ............................................................................................................................... 2 A. Project Location ............................................................................................................................... 2 B. Project Concept ................................................................................................................................ 2 C. REMDP Preparation and Efforts to Minimize Potential Resettlement Negative Impacts ................ 2 III. Scope of Land Acquisition and Resettlement ................................................................................... 4 A. Transmission Line Route ................................................................................................................. 4 1.Towers .......................................................................................................................................... 4 2.Auxiliary Installations....................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Title Factors Associated with Emergence and Spread of Cholera
    Factors Associated with Emergence and Spread of Cholera Title Epidemics and Its Control in Sarawak, Malaysia between 1994 and 2003 Benjamin, Patrick Guda; Gunsalam, Jurin Wolmon; Radu, Son; Napis, Suhaimi; Bakar, Fatimah Abu; Beon, Meting; Benjamin, Author(s) Adom; Dumba, Clement William; Sengol, Selvanesan; Mansur, Faizul; Jeffrey, Rody; Nakaguchi, Yoshitsugu; Nishibuchi, Mitsuaki Citation 東南アジア研究 (2005), 43(2): 109-140 Issue Date 2005-09 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/53820 Right Type Departmental Bulletin Paper Textversion publisher Kyoto University Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2, September 2005 Factors Associated with Emergence and Spread of Cholera Epidemics and Its Control in Sarawak, Malaysia between 1994 and 2003 * ** ** Patrick Guda BENJAMIN , Jurin Wolmon GUNSALAM , Son RADU , *** ** # ## Suhaimi NAPIS , Fatimah Abu BAKAR , Meting BEON , Adom BENJAMIN , ### * † Clement William DUMBA , Selvanesan SENGOL , Faizul MANSUR , † †† ††† Rody JEFFREY , NAKAGUCHI Yoshitsugu and NISHIBUCHI Mitsuaki Abstract Cholera is a water and food-borne infectious disease that continues to be a major public health problem in most Asian countries. However, reports concerning the incidence and spread of cholera in these countries are infrequently made available to the international community. Cholera is endemic in Sarawak, Malaysia. We report here the epidemiologic and demographic data obtained from nine divisions of Sarawak for the ten years from 1994 to 2003 and discuss factors associated with the emergence and spread of cholera and its control. In ten years, 1672 cholera patients were recorded. High incidence of cholera was observed during the unusually strong El Niño years of 1997 to 1998 when a very severe and prolonged drought occurred in Sarawak. Cholera is endemic in the squatter towns and coastal areas especially those along the Sarawak river estuaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Revisiting Community Bidayuh Empowerment Using Abductive Research Strategy
    Asian Social Science; Vol. 9, No. 8; 2013 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Revisiting Community Bidayuh Empowerment Using Abductive Research Strategy N. Lyndon1, A. C. Er1, S. Selvadurai1, M. S. Sarmila1, M. J. Fuad1, R. Zaimah1, Azimah A. M.1, Suhana S.1, A. Mohd Nor Shahizan2, Ali Salman2 & Rose Amnah Abd Rauf3 1 School of Social, Development and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia 2 School of Media and Communication Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia 3 Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya (UM), Malaysia Correspondence: N. Lyndon, School of Social, Development and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia. Tel: 60-3-8921-4212. E-mail: [email protected] Received: December 19, 2012 Accepted: March 29, 2013 Online Published: April 25, 2013 doi:10.5539/ass.v9n8p64 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n8p64 This research was supported by Centre for Research and Instrument Management, under the research university grant, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia: UKM-GGPM-PLW-018-2011 Abstract Previous studies shows that the failure of community development in Malaysia always related with two aspects such as the emphasis on top-down approach which is the centralization of power without the active participation of community members and also a limited understanding of the needs and aspirations of the local people. Therefore the main objective of this study is to understand the meaning of empowerment from the world-view of Bidayuh community itself. This study using abductive research strategy and a phenomenology research paradigm which is based on idealist ontology and constructionist epistemology.
    [Show full text]
  • Status of Peatlands in Malaysia Was Urgently Needed
    A QUICK SCAN OF PEATLANDS IN MALAYSIA Wetlands International – Malaysia March 2010 Project funded by the Kleine Natuur Initiatief Projecten, Royal Netherlands Embassy A QUICK SCAN OF PEATLANDS IN MALAYSIA Wetlands International - Malaysia March 2010 Project funded by the Kleine Natuur Initiatief Projecten, Royal Netherlands Embassy PREFACE Malaysia, comprising the regions of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak, supports some of the most extensive tropical peatlands in the world. Malaysia’s peatlands mainly consist of peat swamp forest, a critically endangered category of forested wetland characterised by deep layers of peat soil and waters so acidic that many of the plants and animals found in them do not occur in the other tropical forests of Asia. The peatlands of Malaysia play a critical role in preserving water supply, regulating and reducing flood damage, providing fish, timber, and other resources for local communities, and regulating the release of greenhouse gases by storing large amounts of carbon within peat. They also support a host of globally threatened and restricted-ranged plants and animals. Despite these values, the peatlands of Malaysia are the most highly threatened of all its forests and wetlands. Vast areas of peat swamp forest have been cleared, burnt, and drained for economic development and few of Malaysia’s peatlands remain intact. Remaining peatlands continue to be cleared, particularly for oil palm plantations, to meet domestic and international demand for palm oil and other agricultural products. While this demand is increasing, international consumers are also implementing more stringent requirements for forest-certified and ‘green’ products. This is creating new demands on Malaysia to meet its national and international commitments toward climate change protocols and biodiversity conservation while still achieving its economic targets.
    [Show full text]
  • A-111 Case Studies on Design and Construction of Deep
    15TH INTERNATIONAL PEAT CONGRESS 2016 Abstract No: A-111 CASE STUDIES ON DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF DEEP FOUNDATIONS IN SARAWAK SOFT SOIL Frydolin Siahaan1* and Junaidi Sahadan2 1Bridges and Wharves Branch, Public Works Department, Sarawak, Malaysia 2Quality Management Sector, Public Works Department, Sarawak, Malaysia *Corresponding author: [email protected] SUMMARY Eight (8) structures using deep foundation are selected and discussed in this paper. The eight (8) structures located in difficult ground of Sarawak are namely the Sg. Rimbas Bridge in Pusa, Sg. Sawit Bridge, Sg. Palasan Bridge, and Pusa Ferry Ramp in Pusa; all in Betong Division, Batang Samariang Bridge in Kuching Division, Batang Samarahan Bridge and Batang Sadong Bridge; both in Samarahan Division and Batang Baram Bridge in Miri Division. During the design stage, several important engineering decisions were made in order to meet both the design code and statutory requirements. The design was not to compromise the difficult condition of the ground. The ground at all eight (8) locations were reported to be having low bearing capacity with Standard Penetration Test (SPT) N values between 0 and 5 found at depths from 0 to 20m and (SPT) N values less than 10 found at depths between 20m and 80m. Very soft to soft soil that is of recent sedimentary deposit was found at all locations. This paper emphasizes on decisions made in the design of the bridge foundation and ferry fender foundation. Background and localities of the projects, geological and geotechnical findings, design and types of foundation used, method of constructing the foundation and preliminary test pile results obtained are presented in this paper.
    [Show full text]
  • Socio-Demography, Nutritional Status and Physical Activity Among Elderly in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia
    International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) Vol. 10, No. 2, June 2021, pp. 311~317 ISSN: 2252-8806, DOI: 10.11591/ijphs.v10i2.20739 311 Socio-demography, nutritional status and physical activity among elderly in Samarahan division, Sarawak, Malaysia Mohd Fakhree Bin Saad, Cheah Whye Lian, Helmy Hazmi Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: The physical activity among elderly has been associated with reduction of risk from all-cause mortality and improve physical, mental, and social well- Received Nov 15, 2020 being. The objectives were to determine the physical activity status among Revised Feb 5, 2021 elderly in Samarahan Division, Sarawak and its association with socio- Accepted Mar 10, 2021 demographic characteristics and nutritional status. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 199 elderly, aged between 60 to 90 years, from rural area in Samarahan Division (Asajaya and Simunjan district), Malaysia. Socio- Keywords: demographic characteristic was taken via questionnaire, nutritional status and body composition of the elderly was measured using anthropometric Body composition measurement, and physical activity using pedometer. Data were analyzed Elderly using IBM SPSS version 26. The proportion of physically active among Pedometer elderly was 12.6% and mean daily steps are 3946 steps (SD=1669 steps). Physical activity Multiple linear regressions revealed that age, body mass index (BMI), and Sarawak sex were significant associated with physical activity. Lack of physical activity among elderly remain a problem. Understanding these predictors related to physical activity is important for designing intervention program. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license.
    [Show full text]
  • Ectoparasites of Birds from a Rice Field in Samarahan Division, Sarawak
    Trends in Undergraduate Research (2018) 1(1): a45-51 Ectoparasites of Birds from a Rice Field in Samarahan Division, Sarawak NUR ATHIRAH ASRIF, KARIM NURQAMAREENA & YEE LING CHONG* Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia *Corresponding author: [email protected]; [email protected] ABSTRACT Birds are easily infested with ectoparasites due to their fitness, foraging behaviour, nesting cavities, micro- and macro-habitats. However, the status of ectoparasite infestation on birds in Sarawak is widely unknown. Rice field provides food resources to a variety of birds. This study was conducted to determine the species composition of ectoparasites from birds in a rice field at Kuap Village, Samarahan, Sarawak. A total of 69 birds consists of five species were caught from the rice field and the most common bird species found was the Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla). From these, 55 were found infested with ectoparasites with the infestation prevalence of 79.71%. A total of 2,513 ectoparasites from eight species were recovered from this study which comprised of six species of mites, one species of soft tick, and one species from the class Insecta. The most dominant ectoparasite species was mite namely, Nanopterodectes sp. with a total of 1,626 individuals. This baseline data on the ectoparasite composition and infestation of birds is important as some of the ectoparasites have the potential in transmitting zoonotic diseases to the farmers working at the rice fields in this region. Keywords: Avian, Chestnut Munia, ectoparasite infestation, paddy plantation, Malaysia Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
    [Show full text]